International students from Wanganui College playing at Kaiwi Beach

Wanganui Collegiate’s 25 newest international students headed to Kai Iwi Beach for a day out over the weekend.

They joined the school’s current 42 international students for a day of swimming, football and volleyball, followed by a barbecue at Bason Reserve.

One of the highlights was when students showed their ingenuity by making a volleyball net out of driftwood they found on the beach.

International Student Co-Director Rosie Austin said a great day was had by all.

“They loved the water even though it was colder than they would normally expect,” Ms Austin said.

“We like to take the kids out three or four weeks into school, purely to let them see Whanganui and have some social activities outside of school.”

The students, from Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, Fiji, Chile and Germany, are studying at Whanganui College to qualify for NCEA exams.

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The event has been held every year for the five years that Ms. Austin has been involved, except for last year when it was canceled due to bad weather.

Ms Austin said the only concern this year is water.

“Our main concern is that these students are not used to swimming in the ocean,” she said.

“We were pretty nervous when they were all swimming in the ocean so we called in the Whanganui Surf Life Saving Club. They were amazing and put four crews together for us.”

Alan Richardson, director of international students, served as chef for the day, grilling chicken patties and sausages, and then serving toasted marshmallows in a chocolate chip cookie for dessert.

Ms Austin said there had been “a lot of eating” throughout the day.

“They love spending the afternoons outside of school, they love going to different places, being together and eating different foods in the cafeteria.”